Silent Fall

talk about it," she said with a dismissive shake of her head.
    "But --"
    "No buts," she interrupted. "You like to do that -- turn the attention away from your own life, but you can’t this time."
    "Hey, according to you, our lives are now intertwined. Which brings me back to the vision you had a few weeks ago. What else did you see?"
    "I’ve already told you what I saw."
    "Have you?" he challenged. "I remember that night you read my tea leaves. You were gung ho to tell me my fortune and then you suddenly wanted to stop. Why?"
    "It was the colors that surrounded us -- dark red like blood, black like death."
    Her dramatic words put his nerves back on edge. "So, you saw blood and death in my future, and you didn’t think it might be a good idea to stick around when Erica approached me last night?" he asked.
    A flash of anger lit Catherine’s eyes. "What do you want from me, Dylan? Do you want me to say I made the premonition up? I can do that. I can tell a lie. You’re not the first person in my life to make fun of my visions. I gave up trying to convince people a long time ago. I don’t really give a damn what you think. And actually I just came down here to say good-bye. I’ve decided to go home and get on with my life."
    She bristled with indignation, her entire body tense, her eyes fiery, her cheeks flushed with red. She was beautiful, and she was pissed. He knew she was two seconds away from walking out the door, and he couldn’t let her go.
    "I’m sorry," he said, then destroyed his own apology by adding, "But you’re not going anywhere. You started this, and you’re not walking out in the middle."
    "I didn’t start anything. Whether I saw you and Erica in a vision has nothing to do with the fact that she approached you last night and allegedly drugged you. She did that on her own."
    "There’s no ‘allegedly’ about it," he said sharply. "It happened, and you need to help me figure out why."
    "I don’t need to do anything."
    "Okay, that wasn’t the right word."
    "Or the right tone," she told him.
    He let out a sigh and tipped his head. "I apologize again. I know you don’t have to help me, but I really wish you would."
    Indecision danced through her eyes. "Is Erica your girlfriend?"
    "Hell, no, she’s not my girlfriend."
    "But you had a relationship."
    "We’ll talk about this later," he said, cutting her off as Deputy Barnes returned. "Are we done?" he asked the officer.
    "Looks like it. I can give you a ride to the lodge now," the deputy said.
    "Thanks anyway, but my friend will drive me back," Dylan said.
    The deputy nodded. "All right. Detective Richardson will get in touch with you later today."
    "I’m sure he will." Dylan blew out a breath as the deputy left. He needed a little time to think, and he finally had it.
    "I’ll take you to the lodge; then you’re on your own," Catherine said.
    "Not so fast," he said as she started down the hall.
    She paused, tapping her foot impatiently. "What now?"
    "I’m hungry."
    "You’re hungry?" she echoed, as if she hadn’t been expecting such a prosaic response.
    "Yes, and I think better after I’ve eaten. Let’s check out the cafeteria."
    She hesitated, a frown crossing her lips. "There’s a restaurant at the lodge."
    "And it will be crawling with cops. I need to catch my breath, get my wits about me. Come on, I’ll treat you."
    "Fine, but after that I’m done."
    "Right." Dylan shrugged back into his coat. As he did so he realized Catherine was staring at his arm. "What’s wrong now?"
    "You’re missing a cuff link," she said, her voice tense.
    He glanced down at his sleeve. "It must have come off."
    "It did," she agreed, meeting his gaze. "In Erica’s cabin."
    "How do you know that?" His gut twisted at the certainty in her eyes.
    "I walked by her cabin on the way to my car. I assume it was her cabin, because there was yellow tape on the door and the police were going through it. Detective Richardson showed me a cufflink and asked me if I recognized it." She paused. "I said I didn’t."
    "You lied?" he asked, surprised by the admission. "Why?"
    "I don’t know," she said with a confused shake of her head. "I shouldn’t have. Don’t you have some friends or family you can call? Surely there were people at the wedding yesterday who would like to help you out."
    "The people at the reception were mostly Jake’s friends, his